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Greg Greeley, retail vice president of Amazon Europe, explains that the European Commission is weighing rules that would restrict shoppers' choices. The rules would make it possible for manufacturers to discriminate against pure-play online retailers. "European consumers must be able to choose the combination of shopping methods and sellers that best serves their needs," Greeley writes. "Even more, they must be granted the freedom to shop throughout the EU and enjoy the increased choice, availability, convenience, and competition that e-commerce offers."

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Giving online shoppers a choice of pickup or delivery makes increasing sense for many online retailers, especially grocery sellers such as Peapod that deal with produce and other perishables. Traditional retailers including Wal-Mart and The Container Store have made pickup an option at their brick-and-mortar stores, and some pure-play online retailers are partnering with physical stores to provide the option.

European regulators were encouraged by eBay to drop a requirement for Internet retailers to have "bricks-and-mortar" shops. The company said the requirement would slow down e-commerce, hurt small businesses and keep prices high. Suppliers may be allowed to require distributors to have a physical shop before they can sell online, according to a draft regulation from the European Commission. The brick-and-mortar regulation would limit competition and consumers' choice, Amazon Europe's retail vice president, Greg Greeley, wrote in a piece for The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

European regulators were encouraged by eBay to drop a requirement for Internet retailers to have "bricks-and-mortar" shops. The company said the requirement would slow down e-commerce, hurt small businesses and keep prices high. Suppliers may be allowed to require that distributors have a "brick-and-mortar" shop before they can sell online, according to a draft regulation from the European Commission. The brick-and-mortar regulation would limit competition and consumers' choice, Amazon Europe's retail vice president, Greg Greeley, wrote in a piece for The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

The European Commission has formally adopted new legislation that consolidates the approach to genetically modified organisms, biotech food and biotech feed. "European consumers can now have confidence that any GM food or feed marketed in Europe has been subject to the most rigorous pre-marketing assessment," said Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne.